Cape Town - A multi-stakeholder relief operation will continue on Sunday, with a focus on small and isolated communities in the Cederberg Mountains, as the West Coast District has been hard hit by recent cold fronts, with widespread flooding making many roads and bridges inaccessible.
“We were pleased that humanitarian aid could reach Citrusdal yesterday, and with a window of clear skies today, we can use helicopters where necessary to reach people, who have been isolated for the past couple of days,” Anton Bredell, Western Cape MEC of Local Government, Environmental Affairs and Development Planning said.
“Today’s situation report from the Provincial Disaster Management Centre indicted that most rivers in the province have passed their flood peaks, but remain very full.
“We are therefore concerned about the latest weather system, which is expected to make landfall this evening. It is predicted to cause heavy rain in the Cape Winelands and Overberg Districts, potentially resulting in more flooding along our rivers,” he said.
Also predicted are large swells and gale-force winds along the coastline, as well as near gale-force winds in the Central Karoo. The rain is expected to be followed by freezing temperatures in the interior of the province on Wednesday, after which conditions are expected to improve, authorities said.
“Our focus remains the protection of human lives, and then the coordination and delivery of humanitarian aid. Thank you to all the stakeholders who have been working with us on providing relief where needed,” Bredell added.
Meanwhile the severe and stormy weather conditions, experienced by the Western Cape led to the damage of infrastructure and the closure of access roads. Citrusdal and Ceres were among some of the areas worst affected by this.
The Department of Infrastructure said its teams have been hard at work to restore and re-open the roads, while ensuring that they are safe for public usage.
“The main road 310 (MR310) between Citrusdal and Ceres has been partially re-opened to traffic, but people are urged to be cautious and obey all instructions and road signage. It is accessible for passenger vehicles. We urge the public to drive slowly and carefully as the road has dangerous areas. There are still potholes forming and this may create large holes and will be monitored. This does now however provide an entrance and exit route for Citrusdal,” the department said.
Cape Times